


AB (RH-)

by lapinprince



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Akechi and Futaba as half siblings, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Family Reunions, Found Family, Gen, Long Lost/Secret Relatives, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Canon, Post-Canon Fix-It, Shuake not the focus but the tag is there for those who don't like the ship since it is mentioned, endgame spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-08
Updated: 2017-09-03
Packaged: 2018-12-12 19:29:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11743656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lapinprince/pseuds/lapinprince
Summary: Goro is told that he has a sibling somewhere, and begins to search relentlessly for them. Meanwhile, Futaba decides to ask Sojiro about her father, the man she had never met.Fortunately, Akira connects the dots and makes an incredible discovery.





	1. i found you

**Author's Note:**

> this is inspired by the futago theory that @gloryruins on twitter has been talking about as well as many others!! i couldn't stop thinking about it and wanted to write a reunion how i imagined it
> 
> this is also! something that could totally continue on so i wont mark this as complete just yet, but most likely i will just respond to requests or prompts regarding them as siblings. want to see them going to a festival? done. futaba got her heart broken or maybe goro does and the other goes to beat the offender up? lets do it. im pretty open and ill tackle basically anything, just let me know! 
> 
> you can hit me up on [twitter](http://twitter.com/princenocolo) if youd like! i talk about my next fics there.
> 
> -♔

This shouldn’t have to be this difficult.

Goro flipped through pages and pages of birth records that he had obtained from the hospital, grumbling as he continued to find nothing. For whatever reason, all birth records before 2005 were not digitized at this hospital in particular, making it difficult to search through. He heaved a sigh and leaned back in his desk chair, rubbing at his eyes. 

It was a few years since the Phantom Thieves disbanded. Goro was extremely lucky to only be given a short jail sentence, and even luckier that his jailing did not impact his reputation much. Somehow, his fans had twisted the murders he was charged for to be completely out of his hands, something he disagreed on, but he couldn’t criticize when it meant he was a free man much sooner than he would otherwise. He had dropped from the limelight almost entirely since being released, and as time went by his fans went quieter too, potentially waiting for the next incarnation of the Detective Prince to arrive. His life was peaceful, working with the police department as a detective for real this time, but since leaving jail he couldn’t help but feel like something was missing. 

It was because of Shido that he had this feeling. The two happened to be serving their prison sentences at the same penitentiary, and despite Goro’s utter disgust for his father, they crossed paths more than he would like. He said essentially nothing, of course. Not to his son, partially responsible for the life sentence that he received. The day before Goro was released, however, Shido had unexpectedly approached him, and Goro heard him out.

“You have a younger sibling,” he said plainly. Goro blanched and Shido emotionlessly stepped back from his cell and left before Goro could ask more. He never saw him again, could never clarify.

And so he was searching, having nothing to go off on except for their father being Shido Masayoshi, and their date of birth being after June 2nd, 1999. It took him quite a while before he was settled enough in his life to start this search; he wanted to take as much time as he needed with this. He swore as he found nothing in yet another book of birth records. The thought that Shido was lying to him briefly crossed his mind from time to time, but what would he have to gain doing that? 

Groaning, Goro pressed his hands to the sides of his face. He glanced at the time- 5:34 pm. He was to meet Akira at 6 for a dinner date, and if he didn’t want to keep him waiting, he would need to leave soon. He would have plenty of time to continue searching later. Giving a lingering look at the piles of records on his desk, he rose from his chair and left to get dressed.

* * *

Futaba stirred the foam of her hot chocolate into the liquid, sighing. “Sojiro… do you know my father?” she asked, breaking the comfortable silence. Akira continued to wash dishes, straining to listen in at the same time. Sojiro glanced up, mildly surprised that she was asking a question she had never wanted to know the answer to before. 

“I don’t know him, no,” he replied, scratching his cheek. Futaba leaned an elbow on the counter and rested her chin in her hand, eyeing Sojiro carefully. 

“Do you… know _of_ him?” she asked, rephrasing the question. Sojiro chuckled quietly at her persistence.

“Well… I suppose I do. I don’t know much _about_ him, though,” he explained. Futaba’s eyes lit up and she peered up at Sojiro expectantly.

“What do you know, then?” she asked. Sojiro watched Futaba’s face grow more pensive the more she pondered the answer to the question and sighed. 

“I know that he left your mother very shortly after you were born,” he began, running a hand through his hair. “He didn’t support you or your mother financially despite having the means, that I remember, Wakaba was angry at him for that… he abandoned you both as soon as he could, I reckon.” The air between Sojiro and Futaba was tense and full of anxiety, both remembering vivid images of the past.

“Do you know anything about him at all, though?” Futaba asked quietly after a bout of silence. Sojiro heaved a heavy sigh and placed the hot water jug onto the counter. 

“He was well off, I remember that. Wakaba always mentioned that her and you were…” Sojiro paused, hesitant at continuing. Akira continued to messily wash dishes, too invested in overhearing this conversation to care. “Something like a hindrance, I guess. Your mother and he never married. Must have been in something where reputation was important. I somewhat remember him being in politics…?” Futaba scrunched up her face, trying to imagine who it could be, but sighed deeply when she ultimately drew a blank.

“Ah- I have to go now, Sojiro,” Akira piped up, checking his watch. It was getting close to 6, and he had intended on meeting Goro then. 

“Alright. See you later,” the older man said, waving a hand. He hummed with thought and stalked up the stairs, leaving Futaba to her laptop at the counter.

“Have fun on your _date_ , Akira,” Futaba grinned, giving a little cackle at the slightly pink flush on her pseudo older brother’s face. Akira shook his head and stepped out the door once he had gathered his things.

* * *

“You’re early,” Goro remarked when he saw Akira coming towards the station. Akira gave a smirk.

“I could say the same for you, you seemed to be here first,” he retorted. Goro rolled his eyes.

“Okay, you got me. Anyway, where did you want to go today? I’m quite hungry, in all honesty,” Goro said, rubbing at his eyes with a hand. 

“Sure. Got a place in mind?” Akira asked, sliding his bag further up his shoulder. 

“Mm… would you like to go to that Japanese spaghetti place?” Goro glanced around to gauge where they were. 

“Sounds good. Lead the way,” Akira replied. Goro smiled fondly at Akira and started to walk, subtly rolling his shoulders back to release all the tension that came with hunching over his desk all day. 

“What have you been up to lately? We haven’t seen each other in a while,” Akira piped up, watching Goro’s face for any reaction. Goro blinked and cleared his throat, surprised that he hadn’t told Akira about his little project yet.

“Ah, I’ve been preoccupied with something,” Goro replied. He glanced around quickly to see if anyone was around, finding that nobody was within obvious earshot. He took a steady breath and continued. “I never said anything before, but, uh… before I was… released, ah… Shido came to me.” 

“...what’d he say?” Akira asked, brows furrowing slightly, wondering why Goro hadn’t told him about this earlier. The two stopped at an intersection and waited to cross. Goro ran a hand through his already tousled hair and sighed. 

“Shido said that I have a younger sibling… he didn’t say anything else, though. I’ve been searching to see if I can find them. It’d be nice if I could...” Goro trailed off and rubbed the back of his neck, anxious that this had just been a waste of time. 

Akira opened his mouth to speak, but closed it as he mentally connected the dots. His eyes widened and he grabbed Goro by the wrist and started to briskly walk back towards the station, dragging the detective along behind him. Goro yelped at the sudden force, stumbling to follow clumsily behind Akira.

“A-Akira! What are you doing--?!” Goro sputtered, trying to reach forward to wrench his arm out of Akira’s grasp, and failing miserably. Akira said nothing as he continued to pull Goro to the station, even going so far as to yanking him past the ticket terminals despite Goro’s protests to at least let him pay for train fare. The two sat down in a pair of open seats, Akira still stiff from shock about his discovery.

“Akira, what is the meaning of this-” Goro began, but Akira placed a hand on his knee and faced him, looking very serious.

“I think I know who your sibling is.” 

Goro was quiet for the rest of the ride.

* * *

The door to Leblanc opened again, the little bell chiming as Akira tugged Goro through the door. Futaba was still perched at her usual seat by the counter, her hot chocolate gone cold beside her. She turned and gave a confused look at Akira, tilting her head.

“Eh? I thought you were gonna have a date! What are you doing here?” she asked, pulling her headphones off from her ears. 

“I would like to ask the same thing,” Goro said, feeling uncomfortably put on the spot. Akira let go of Goro’s wrist and paced towards the counter, in deep thought.

“I may be wrong,” Akira said after a deep breath, pausing to think more.

“Yes…?” Goro asked, an eyebrow raised.

“But you-” Akira pointed at Futaba, “were just asking about who your father was, and Sojiro said that he thought he was in politics…” Futaba narrowed her eyes, not quite sure where Akira was going with this. 

“And you-” Akira pointed at Goro this time, “have been looking for a long lost younger sibling…” Goro’s eyes widened and he stared towards Futaba, who seemed to still be processing what Akira was trying to say.

“So I may be wrong… and it’s a huge, huge stretch, but I always thought your faces looked slightly similar and you’re both very smart in your field and sometimes the things you both do are absolutely _uncanny_ , but-” Akira began to ramble, bubbling off like a train engine that wouldn’t stop. 

“Akira!” Goro shouted suddenly, and Akira went quiet. “Are you saying that-”

“- we might be siblings?” Futaba finished, looking at Goro with wide eyes. 

“That. That’s one of the uncanny things that you do,” Akira said, pointing at the both of them. Goro wrinkled his nose. No, this couldn’t be this convenient. It couldn’t be this easy. 

The two boys’ thoughts were interrupted by an outburst of laughter by Futaba, pulling her knees up to precariously lean against the counter from her stool.

“That’s funny, Akira! You gotta admit, though, those are some pretty wide descriptors that you’re basing this off of!” Despite her words, she looked more like a deflated balloon, more remorseful and defeated than anything. She peered back up to Goro, who was no doubt trying to find any logic to this connection, and gave a small sigh. There was no way that it could be this simple. She couldn’t just _find_ family this easily, not her.

“I think Akira might be right,” called a voice from up the stairs. Sojiro stepped down from the attic, what looked like a photo album in his hands. He approached the three and placed the book on the counter in front of them, open to a specific page.

The pages showed several pictures tucked in the plastic sleeves of Wakaba and a man. Some showed them both smiling and holding each other, others seemed to be candids of Wakaba around the house or outside. Sojiro turned the page, and the pictures there showed Wakaba pregnant, others showing Shido holding a baby with Wakaba next to him, smiling. Goro paled, shakily pointing towards the man. 

“That’s… my father,” he said, rubbing his eyes to make sure that he wasn’t just imagining this. Though he looked significantly younger, the man in the images was definitely Shido. Goro looked towards Futaba, whose face was basically unreadable. She had her thumbnail to her lips, nibbling the nail thoughtfully. 

“ _Our_ father,” she said bluntly. Sojiro sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. 

“Of course, we could always look into doing tests to make sure… or ask Shido himself, maybe-” Sojiro suggested, but Futaba shook her head.

“This is enough proof for me, Sojiro. Maybe we can do that later, but…” Futaba hopped out of her chair and stood in front of Goro, the 11 inch difference so much more apparent when they were this close. Goro looked down at Futaba uneasily, still unable to read the expression in her eyes. 

“So… you’re my big brother.”

“...and I suppose you’re my little sister.”

Akira watched this strange exchange, the two potential half-siblings staring each other down. He wondered if this would be any different if it was another combination of this group of friends, or if it would still seem this weird.

Futaba suddenly launched herself into Goro, gripping onto him around the waist tightly as she pressed her face to his jacket. Goro let out a yelp of surprise, but soon pulled Futaba into a hug, his gloved hands resting on her back. 

“...more family,” Futaba mumbled into Goro’s chest. 

“What?” Goro asked, leaning away so Futaba could repeat herself. She leaned back, eyes glassy as she looked at Goro with a shaky smile.

“I have more family,” she repeated. She pulled her glasses off and dove her face back into Goro’s coat, sniffling. Goro smiled softly, finding himself lifting a hand up to stroke her hair. 

“I _have_ family,” Goro said quietly in realization, continuing to run his fingers through her hair to try to soothe her. Futaba began to shake, shoulders heaving as she cried in her older brother’s arms for the first time. 

“Stupid, I could have lost you too, then-” Futaba said, pulling back to wipe at her eyes, sniffling noisily. Goro went quiet, remembering the events a few years prior. He stiffened as he was reminded exactly how he was connected to this girl.

“...don’t you remember what I _did_ , though-” Goro said in a low voice, afraid that if she was reminded, she would leave, just like everyone else. Futaba wrenched back from his grip and glared at Goro, confirming his fears. 

“Don’t you remember that it’s _not your fault?!_ ” she yelled, angry tears spilling down her cheeks. Goro stared, shocked. Sojiro and Akira shifted uncomfortably behind them, unable to say anything.

“Still, does it not make sense that if Shido of all people was our shared father, bonds made by blood can mean nothing-” Goro began, interrupted by Futaba reaching up and punching him in the face. Goro sputtered in surprise, holding a hand to the tender spot on his cheek. Sojiro quietly went to the fridge to get ice. 

“I don’t care! Sure, you did awful things and killed my mom, but it wasn’t your fault, it was our _dad’s fault_ , and now that I know that I still have blood family left I don’t want to just leave you behind when you were a victim too.” Futaba rubbed at her eyes and took short breaths in attempts to calm herself as Goro went silent. Unlike Futaba, Goro never found anyone to take him in that would take care of him like Sojiro. He never found family after his mother committed suicide. He never had anyone to treat him as such, and he never knew what the feeling of a found family was, nevertheless a blood family. He almost felt that if this was true, having someone as ruthlessly determined as Futaba as family was more than he deserved. He closed his eyes.

“It’s been _years_ ,” Futaba added, her tears seemingly slowing to a stop. “ _Years._ Just forget it already.” Goro took a deep breath and looked at Futaba in the eyes, giving her a soft smile. 

“...If you’re sure, Futaba,” he said, willing away the tears welling up in his eyes as well, “I just… it’d kill me to lose my only family-- a younger sister-- just after finding her.” Futaba started to sniffle again and she grabbed Goro into another hug. The both of them clung to each other as Futaba sobbed and Goro subtly wiped his own tears away for quite a while before they separated. 

“We should probably undergo the necessary testing to ensure that we are indeed related,” Goro said, sighing.

“I can, er. Probably help with that?” Akira spoke up. “I can get a favour, er- yeah.” Provided that he pay with his own blood, probably, but he decided not to mention the details of his deal with Takemi. Futaba and Goro understood almost immediately however, and Sojiro stared with concern. 

“Sure. We can do that at some point, then.” Goro smiled and ruffled Futaba’s hair, who giggled and batted his hand away. She slid her glasses back onto her face and seemed about to say something, but shock took over her face instead. 

“Oh my god,” she said. Goro furrowed his brow.

“What?”

“I just realized,” she continued. Goro tilted his head and nudged her shoulder.

“What is it?” 

“...My brother is dating my brother,” she said in horror, looking between Akira and Goro. Sojiro placed his face in his hands. 

“I- I’m not your brother by blood, though, I’m just kind of like- like a brother figure!” Akira began, flustered at these implications, ears turning warm and pink.

“Yes, and we’re not-- _we’re_ not related by blood, nor family figure title, so it’s just fine-!” Goro continued, gesturing wildly to himself and Akira, his cheeks burning red. Futaba’s look of sheer terror shifted into a terrifying smirk instead. 

“It’s fine, I’m down with it,” she said with an impish grin. She gave them both two thumbs up, Goro’s face continuing to flush an even deeper red than before.

“W-what does that mean?!” Goro sputtered. The three continued their bickering, which seemed to be moreso Futaba teasing the other boys than anything.

“Hoo boy…” Sojiro sighed, pulling the photo album closer to him. He flipped through the pages, looking at the pictures of Wakaba smiling. He gave the slightest smile back as he looked through the photos fondly, wondering if he had been raising Futaba as well as he could have. He glanced up to see Futaba’s bright smile despite her red eyes puffy with tears, and chuckled softly to himself. He closed the photo album and went back upstairs to put it away, the sounds of their happy bickering below.


	2. i see you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that Goro finally had a day off, Futaba demanded a sleepover.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh god i havent posted anything in so long work and school have been crazy
> 
> ive been working on this chapter for quite a while!! so im sorry if it seems disjointed ;0; this is based off broken_synchronicity's request for video games together!! and also thanks to nafnaf for quickly readin this over because i just wanted to post this up so i hope you all enjoy!! <3
> 
> let me know how you like it!! and you can also find me on twitter at [laprincenico](https://twitter.com/laprincenico)!

The days after Goro and Futaba learned of their familial status became surprisingly boring weeks that dragged on. Futaba grew restless, having no projects to work on and already being bored of schoolwork, despite only being in school for a few months. Goro was apparently busy with his work with the police; multiple cases had cropped up at the same time and Futaba had barely seen him in weeks. She hummed impatiently, laying on her side on her bed, scrolling endlessly through all of her social media.

She hadn’t known how to handle the prospect of suddenly having a sibling. The initial shock and excitement had left, and she had realized the full implications of Akechi Goro being her older half-brother instead; her brother had murdered people, her brother had murdered her own _mother_ , her brother was infamous for his work as a detective and had a mixed reputation because of what he’d done, her brother had been tricking them all that time, her brother tried to kill Akira. Just like any other, it was hard not to focus on all of Goro’s heavy mistakes.

But at the same time, since the start of April she had seen this other side of Goro that rarely showed to the public. The side of him that felt remorse for his actions and hatred towards Shido, that loathed himself and couldn’t understand the kind treatment he received, that couldn’t decide between acting cocky and overly prideful or letting the exhausted self deprecation that he felt show through. Futaba knew that Goro was trying to hide it all, too conflicted to decide what mask to wear anymore. She could say it was a “sibling’s intuition” that she caught on to him, but no- he just couldn’t fool someone as sharp and observant as she. Besides, she couldn’t ignore what she could easily recognize in herself. Perhaps _that_ was a sibling thing?

Despite not being able to spend time together in person, he was surprisingly diligent responding to her texts, or doing so at least once a day. Futaba rolled onto her back and huffed a sigh, wondering what to do with the rest of her evening. Her phone suddenly vibrated, the notification indicating a text from Goro.

**Goro:** Sorry. Today was a hassle, wrapping up another case.

Futaba wrinkled her nose. She had always wondered how Goro was able to even continue working with the police department, but apparently his role as a victim of Shido and his help building the case against their father meant a minimal sentencing like Akira’s. That, and despite his falsified cases, he was actually fairly sharp on the field. She snorted at the thought of the police department being so stupid that they had to rely on an ex-murderer. Her phone buzzed again.

**Goro:** I’m more free now. We could do something together, if you’d like.

She sat up abruptly in her bed, feet kicking Morgana out of his peaceful nap and onto the ground. He yowled as he tumbled to the floor, but Futaba was too busy thinking of a fun idea for them to notice. 

**Futaba:** r u free today  >:O

The response was almost instantaneous.

**Goro:** Yes. What do you have in mind?

A devilish grin made its way onto her face as her thumbs moved rapidly across her phone’s keyboard.

**Futaba:** sleepover  
 **Futaba:** video games and lemonade  
 **Futaba:** bring akira too

She wondered if she really wanted Akira to come as well.

**Futaba:** wait nvm 

Goro’s typing bubble kept appearing and disappearing as she continued to type.

**Futaba:** do u have pajamas even or do u only wear pressed shirts  
 **Goro:** Futaba, could you slow down?  
 **Futaba:** actually bring akira  
 **Futaba:** hes rlly bad at mario kart  
 **Futaba:** :D 

Goro seemed to have waited at least a minute before he finally started to reply.

**Goro:** Yes, we can do a sleepover. Yes, I do own pajamas. We can also bring Akira.   
**Goro:** I can provide lemonade, but I’m just wondering, is there some sort of correlation between video games and lemonade?

Futaba was grinning ear to ear at this point, Morgana hovering over her shoulder to read.

**Futaba:** no  
 **Futaba:** maybe?  
 **Futaba:** u tell akira that were gonna use his room

“Shouldn’t you ask him directly-” Morgana began, but was promptly hushed. Futaba scooped Morgana up into her arms and squeezed him between his arm and her lap as she kept typing despite his wailing.

**Goro:** Why don’t you ask him?  
 **Futaba:** he wont say no to u probably  
 **Goro:** Excuse me?  
 **Goro:** Fine, I’ll ask him.

Futaba giggled triumphantly, squishing Morgana’s cheeks in success. Soon enough, two notifications sounded.

**Goro:** We can go over after 7 pm today.

**Akira:** why didn’t you ask me directly

She responded by throwing them both into a group chat with her and sending a sticker of a dancing cat. 

**Futaba:** hope u losers r ready to be destroyed   
**Akira:** hooray  
 **Goro:** Thank you.

“Am I coming too- oW-” Futaba tossed Morgana onto the bed and nearly jumped over to her closet. She was probably a little too excited about this, but hey! A sleepover with _both_ of her brothers? She had every right to be excited.

* * *

Futaba opened the door to Leblanc, waving at Sojiro as she entered. The cafe was quiet since it was to close soon, and Sojiro was waiting for the last customer to leave. By the disgruntled look on his face, the customer has been there for a while. 

“I’m staying over here today!” she chirped, Morgana climbing onto her shoulder from inside her bag. Without waiting for a response, she climbed up the stairs to Akira’s room. Judging from the two voices above, Goro was already over.

“Oh my god!” Futaba gasped as soon as she turned the corner from the landing.

“What-” 

Futaba shielded her eyes. “Gross! What do you guys think you’re doing?!” 

“We’re not-”

She overdramatically turned her face away and held a hand out to silence them. “How could you do this in front of your little sister-” 

“Futaba, we’re literally sitting on the ground setting up the video games.”

Futaba cackled and placed her bag on the couch, Morgana darting away to avoid getting smothered. “Your foot is touching his leg! I read a manga where diseases were transmitted that way once.” She gave an unsettlingly toothy grin and plopped herself down in between them, not caring that she was half sitting on Goro’s leg and draping her feet into Akira’s lap. Akira handed her a glass of the lemonade she requested and she began sipping on it, perched like a queen on her throne.

“Making herself at home, huh…” Morgana tsked, slinking over to the TV, holding a paw to the side of it and balancing himself on top when he found that it was warm.

“So, what’s first- Mario Kart? I set up your Wii U with my TV already,” Akira said, shifting so Futaba could sit more comfortably. “I only had two controllers though, did you bring an extra one?” Futaba tilted her head back towards the duffel bag sitting on the couch.

“In there. Morgana, can you get it?” she called. Morgana wrinkled his nose and padded over towards the bag to drag it over.

“Why are you making him get it- Here, let me just-” Akira began to get up, interrupted by Goro gently pushing Akira back down.

“If you get up, you’ll disrupt her rather… precarious seating position,” he said, with a rather defeatist tone. He rolled his eyes as Futaba grinned.

“Yup! 10 points to Goro in the Best Brother Contest!” she chirped, shifting again until she completely slid into Goro’s lap. Akira sighed, watching poor Morgana drag the bag over by the straps. Once close enough, he dipped his head into the bag and yanked out two Wii remotes by the wrist straps. Akira reached over and grabbed them to save him the trouble. 

“Two? I already have two, Futaba-” Akira asked. To his surprise, Morgana pulled a Wii remote back and rested it on the ground. 

“I’m playing too,” Morgana stated plainly, placing a paw on the remote until it stopped wiggling. Akira looked dumbly towards Futaba clearly wanting answers, but she was preoccupied with setting up the game. 

“Okay! We’ll play a Grand Prix first. Loser has to eat a lemon!” Futaba declared. Goro wrinkled his nose and adjusted his grip on his controller. 

“That’s a terrible punishment,” Akira grumbled, knowing that it would be highly likely that he would lose.

“How about, loser has to pay for sushi for dinner?” Morgana suggested. Akira rubbed his temples at the thought of how expensive that would be.

“You just want fatty tuna.”

“W-well, yeah! It’d be a pretty sweet prize for winning!”

“You don’t even need to win to get that prize.” 

Morgana huffed indignantly, his tail swishing.

“How about, the winner doesn’t have to pay for their sushi?” Goro piped up. Futaba wriggled out of Goro’s lap, flopping onto the ground. 

“Sounds like a good wager, then!” she said, resettling herself on the ground between Goro and Akira. “Ready to get massacred?!” 

The two boys gave an unenthusiastic “yes” and the Grand Prix began. 

As promised, Akira was _dreadful_ at Mario Kart. He failed to get the starting boost and he spent most of each track hugging the walls as much as possible. He had hoped that using Yoshi and the Yoshi bike would, somehow, help his chances, but the rest of the group wound up watching Akira struggle to finish each track after they had all long finished. Goro chose a bike as well just on principle, using the Villager despite its eyes making him feel rather unsettled. He was thankfully quite proficient at steering, even matching Futaba at times, but at the end of each track he could only get 2nd at best. He wasn’t surprised in the least, however. 

What _was_ surprising was how good Morgana was at this game. Goro and Akira looked away from the screen at times to steal a glance of Morgana’s controller. They found that he held the controller down with one of his feet, using his front paws to steer and accelerate. But though Morgana’s Toad could navigate each track perfectly, he had a hard time using items, which truly was his downfall. Without any shells on his side, Futaba’s Shy Guy sped ahead before Morgana or Goro could catch up.

In the end, Futaba was predictably the winner of the Grand Prix. She threw her hands into the air and yelled in excitement, nearly punching Akira out with her controller as she did so.

“Sushi! I don’t gotta pay! Akira, take our orders and go get it!” she said, grinning from ear to ear. Akira put his controller down and sighed, digging his phone out of his pocket to complete the task.

* * *

“Man, that was good-!” Futaba leaned back from the table, utterly stuffed with sushi. Goro glanced at his little sister, spotting a piece of rice stuck to her face. Without thinking long enough, he reached out and nudged the grain off her cheek with a napkin. Futaba froze and whipped her head to turn to Goro, an incredulous look on her face.

“Did you just-” 

“Oh- sorry. I just noticed it.” Goro held his hands up apologetically, hoping that such a familial gesture wasn’t crossing the line, unsure why he did it in the first place. Futaba took a deep breath and glanced down.

“Nah, just… mom always did that,” she said quietly. Goro tensed up, severely wishing he hadn’t done anything at all. Akira reached out and gave him a reassuring pat on the knee. 

“Don’t-” Futaba began suddenly, Goro and Akira glancing up in response. She gave a quiet huff to herself, reaching up to tug at the orange locks framing her face. “I don’t want to bring the mood down, let’s just-”

“I’m sorry.” 

Futaba’s gaze snapped up to Goro, who looked very seriously towards her. Akira stood up uneasily, taking a few steps towards the stairs. “I’m… just going to make some coffee,” he said before slipping down to the cafe. Once she was sure he was out of earshot, Futaba adjusted how she was seated and peered up at her older brother. 

“Don’t apologize,” she said, continuing her outburst from earlier. “It’s in the past, so-”

“I’m not going to let something like that go unacknowledged between us, Futaba,” Goro interjected, sighing slightly. “I’m responsible for your mother’s death… it wasn’t something I wanted to do necessarily, but I did it nonetheless. I don’t want to hide my actions.” Futaba poked her fingers together, pressing the pads of her fingertips while in deep thought. 

“You gotta accept things before you can move on, huh?” she mumbled. Goro cleared his throat and chuckled nervously. Even now, their dynamic reminded him of their banter back and forth in Mementos.

“Yes, I suppose so.” He flinched as Futaba suddenly launched herself into his arms, glasses flung to the side as she burrowed her face in his chest. It wasn’t long before she started to cry quietly, Goro only noticing when he felt spots of wet tears on his shirt. He threaded his hands through her hair soothingly, a peculiar feeling that he couldn’t quite describe blooming within him.

“Thanks…” Futaba sniffled, not letting go of her older brother.

“Of course,” Goro replied.

Akira stayed downstairs for quite a while to give them space, busying himself with making steamed milk with honey instead of listening in to the siblings upstairs.

* * *

It wasn’t long before Futaba got tired, both physically and emotionally. Once the group had all donned their pajamas, Akira and Goro hefted his futon off his bedframe and onto the floor, rolling out another futon next to it. It would be a tight fit for three people and a cat, but they would make do. 

“I want the middle,” Futaba called, flopping down on the futons. Akira quirked a brow.

“Do you really want to be sandwiched between people that bad?” he asked. Futaba gave a bit of a devious grin and feigned wrinkling her nose in disgust.

“Nah, I don’t want you both to get all gross ‘nd touchy feely with each other in your sleep,” she teased. Goro flushed a light pink.

“H-hey, we wouldn’t do that-” 

“We totally do that,” Akira corrected, a playful sneer on his face. “You might want to be careful, Futaba, I might accidentally lick your cheek while asleep.” Futaba’s entire face contorted into some horrible look of disgust and she scooted over to the edge of the bed. Akira started laughing, and Goro shook his head wildly and tried to nudge Futaba back to the middle.

“No, he’s lying, don’t listen to him…” he pleaded, not wanting his little sister to have an awful idea of what her older brother figures do together. Futaba began to cackle as well, leaving Goro uncomfortable and stressed.

Futaba fell asleep the fastest, surprisingly. Once the three of them had settled- Goro with Futaba curled up in his arms, Akira facing Futaba and using her as something to wrap his arms around as well- Futaba was sound asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow. Goro smiled wearily towards Akira on the other side of the double futon, feeling relaxed by the sound and feeling of Futaba breathing.

“How’s being a big bro?” Akira whispered. Goro chuckled quietly and brushed Futaba’s hair out of her face.

“I’ll get used to it,” he whispered back.

**Author's Note:**

> for those who dont know, AB (RH-) is a very rare and specific bloodtype that both futaba and goro have been confirmed to have boosting the sibling theory. i was pressed for a good title and this is cheesy but i like it. the more you know ☆
> 
> edit: dummy me spelled the bloodtype wrong


End file.
